A site which could be potentially developed in controversial circumstances will be the subject of a residents’ meeting in Wem next year.

Land at Roden Grove has had outline planning permission since 2015 for 25 houses despite concerns from residents about floods.

Councillor George Nash, who has campaigned against the development, fears it would only heighten their concerns but believes conditions will still have to be met if the houses are to be built.

“The prospective owner/developer will have to go through the Shropshire Planning’s discharge of conditions,” he said.

“I will hasten to add that the previous geotechnical test pits for hydrology was a major issue as, although not designated by the Environment Agency, the land is with a Flood Zone 2 area (identical to land the other side of the River Roden).

“As many residents of Roden Grove will be aware the land around this site floods. This is partly due to the historic changes that were made to the course of the River Roden during the early part of the 17th century by Dutch engineers.

“The result was that much of the original course is buried underneath the site. The original course and its banks and terracing will be clay-rich and this accounts partly for the high water table.

“The water table per se of course is also seasonally high due to the winter and spring surface water rainfall that flows into the Roden and its tributaries. The result is that the land is not fit for building purpose – simple.

“A meeting to discuss this matter (and more) will be held in Wem in early January at Edinburgh House, Wem.

“There is genuine concern among residents that this development will place a further strain on what is an already finely-balanced relationship between urban-sprawl and the rural environment.”

It is not know who has bought the land to develop it and a date for the meeting has not yet been confirmed.